Apartment living

Bogota is a very large city!  It has about 8 million people!  So everyone lives in apartments.  This is our second time living in an apartment as a family.  When Brian and I lived in Manhattan we were also in an apartment.  The apartment here is much different.  Our apartment in NYC was great for our family at the time, it was just the 2 of us.  It was a 1 bedroom with a den.  It suited our needs perfectly.  We lived on 57th and 11th.  It had a shuttle to Columbus Circle and was walking distance to the Hell's Kitchen area that had great food!

In Bogota we live in Chico.  It is a busy area of town and a booming area of town too!  There is construction everywhere!  We walk past 2 sites taking Caleb to school with is only 5 blocks away.

This apartment is 4 bedrooms, and a den.  Each bedroom has it's own bathroom and there is a half bath off the entrance, that makes 5 bathrooms!  It has a galley kitchen and an open dining room/living room.  We are walking distance to 3 parks.  One being Parque 93, which has a play area for kids, a large green space, and lots of cafes and restaurants.  Here are some pictures of our place!

Bathing in a pool!

 One downfall to this place, is there is no bathtub!  So Ollie is bathing in  a pool and the big boys take showers.  I thought they would not like it, but they love it!

decorating Caleb's room!

 We bought decals before we left the States to decorate their rooms.  Caleb chose pirates, Elias chose balls and I chose dinosaurs for Ollie.

 Eventually we will move Caleb into Elias' room and make Caleb's room the guest room.  But for now we can't fit his bed through the door and we don't have tools to take the bed apart.  When the rest of our stuff comes we will have some people come out and take away furniture we don't want and rearrange a bit for us.

We turned the den into the playroom.  Now that we have our air freight we have toys!  We had 750 pounds in our air freight and  I think 4 of the 6 boxes were toys!  We definitely have too many!!

So many toys!!

Our best view is actually from our bathroom!  Mountain living!

The Preschool Process

Brian and I knew one of the biggest challenges we would have in this post as compared to Australia is having a school aged child.  We left Australia right before Caleb started preschool.  He and Elias did go to a drop in center that had some preschool activities that I really liked.  But Caleb's first true preschool was in Olney.  He had a wonderful year there! I loved his teachers and he easily made friends with the other children in his class.
When we first learned of our housing assignment the first thing we did was see what preschools were close.  The embassy puts out a list of schools that other embassy members have used.  We found about 3 that were close so I emailed them to see if there was space.  There was in each school.  So I felt good about it!  Then 3 weeks before the move and 1 week before pack out we were assigned different housing.  The new apartment was 27 streets south of our old apartment.  So all of the schools I had contacted now we could not go to.
I really want to walk Cakeb to school this year.  The English speaking elementary schools are all far and he will have to take a bus.  So for this year I really wanted to walk.
I found 3 schools that were close to walk.  But I could only get in contact with one of them and they said there was space, phew!  So I filled out the application and was feeling ok.
Ok, about preschools here.  They are called "jardin"(garden).  They are all Spanish speaking.  They all start at 18 months of age and go through age 5.  They are all 5 days a week.  Some are half days some are full.  They are all very different!
When we arrived, I called the school that had space to go see it.  I hired a driver since it had 2 locations and the closer location was being renovated.  The boys and I took the tour and at the end the lady said, "I will call you next week to tell you if we have space."  I was pretty upset.  If there was no space than why did I take the tour?  Also what was the point of me filling out the application?
So the search began for a new preschool.  1 week before school started I called the 2 other preschools.  One was a creative arts school and the other followed the Reggio Emilio model, which the kids learn through projects.  It was a tough decision, we knew an American girl that would be in Caleb's class at the arts school, but the class size was really big, 20 kids to 2 teachers, it was a pretty far walk, and I just did not think it was the best fit for Caleb.  So we decided on the Reggio Emilio school.  It is just a 10 minute walk.  For now it is half day, but when he is adjusted, his Spanish improves, and we think he is ready he will do 8:30-2:30.  He will be able to go swimming every Tuesday, gym twice a week, art twice a week, and music once a week.
Today was his first day and I think it went well.  I prepped him with a few key phrases, "puedo ir al bano" (can i go to the bathroom), "ayudame por favor" (help me please), his teacher's name, and "gracias".  There were no tears on his end.  I got a little teary as I left.  His teacher said he did well.  He said he was nervous at first, but thenwas ok.  He talked about playing outside and when I asked if he wanted to go back tomorrow he said "yes"

Caleb is ready to go wearing a new shirt from his preschool!

Ready to walk to school!

.
I am feeling optimistic.  But I know it might be a tough transition.  Hopefully he will make some frinds soon and start picking up Spanish! 

tres hijos?!

We have been in Bogota a little over a week now and I thought I would start to write my initial impressions of the city and people.
The first is the reaction we get to having 3 kids.  At first I was not sure if people were so surprised that it was 3 kids or 3 boys, hijos in Spanish means both children and male children.  Every time I leave the apartment with the boys I get at least 3 comments, either to me or about me.  I finally asked a lady the other day and she said that most Colombian women are going back to work, so having more than 2 children is a lot.  It also costs a lot to have children here.  If you want them to have a good education you have to send them to private schools which are hugely expensive.
That being said, after the look of surprise and "tres hijos?!" people (men and women alike) are very sweet about it.  Normally it is followed up with , "preciosos", "carinosos", "bellezas", "lindos", etc.  Colombians love children!  Men and women, love to smile and talk to our kids.
The other weird thing is we always get asked if they are twins.  Which I don't get at all, I think my boys look their age, so how a 4 year old and 2 year old or 2 year old and 7 month old could be twins is beyond me.  But I think it goes back to why would you choose to have 3 separate kids, if you have twins it is by chance.
Anyway, I have often felt like the Duggar family here.  People in the States don't blink at 3 kids.  But here we might as well have 19!  

New beginnings in a new country!

So here I am again in another country trying to navigate a new city.  We were in Maryland for 1 year after Australia.  I will write a post about that later.
We arrived in Bogota last Wednesday after a teary good-bye with our parents.  This time we needed 2 cars to take us to the airport.  The man who checked us in was amazing.  My suitcase was overweight by 20 pounds and we were willing to pay extra but he talked us into re-arrainging, even after we were about 3 pounds over, but he did not charge us.  We had 4 suitcases, 3 duffle bags, a diaper bag, and 3 car seats.  He helped us get all out stuff in order and where it needed to be.
On the first flight to Miami, Caleb got sick and threw up.  I don't remember much else about that flight. Then it was 3.5 hours to Bogota.  That flight went ok, but we found out after we got off that Elias had made a huge mess of his diaper and needed a complete change of outfit.  When we finally arrived we were all exhausted.  The only thing that did not show up was the base of Oliver's car seat.  I have called the airline rep several times and I think it is gone for good.
Luckily this time we went straight from the airport to our apartment.  It is a wonderful apartment, 4 bedrooms, each with it's own bathroom, and a den that we will make into a playroom.  It is in a really nice area of town called chico.  We are in walking distance to 2 parks and a ton of restaurants and cafes.  I will post pictures of the apartment later.
Bogota is situated  in the Andes mountains and is 1.5 miles above sea level.  Ollie and I were hit with altitude sickness.  The day after we arrived I got a migraine and nausea.  Luckily it did not hit until evening so Brian was able to look after the boys.  We were not sure how it hit Ollie, but he refused to sleep in his crib for 2 nights.  He would just scream!  He has had the hardest transition by far.
Once I recovered from the altitude sickness, I really started to enjoy city living.  I love being able to walk to everything.  I am trying to find a preschool for Caleb that is walking distance also.  I will post more on that one later too.
We will be here for 2 years.  I am looking forward to what adventures there are to come here!

Last days. .

In 8 days we get on a plane and head back to the States.  I can't believe how fast the time has gone.  I think about when we arrive and how much our lives have changed in the last 2 years.  Caleb was 17 months and we we leave Elias will be 13 months.  Elias will be in the clothes that Caleb wore when we left the States.

I am incredibly sad about leaving Canberra.  We have had an amazing tour.  If it were not for our family being so far away, I would consider moving here.  There are definitely things that get on my nerves here, but on the whole it is a perfect place to raise a family.  The thing I will miss the most are the relationships that we have formed since being here.  We found a wonderful church that has taken great care of our family.  As Christians we are called to be servants and Tuggeranong Presbyterian Church is an example of how to serve.  As a church they took care of our family while we were growing as a family, they took care of Caleb as he started Sunday School, they have taken care of me spiritually through the woman's Bible study, and given me a breather and time to remember who I am at MOPS.  I will miss this church immensely.

Today was the boys last day at Appletree, the daycare centre that they attend on Thursday mornings.  They are in occasional care which means that I would call every Thursday morning to get them in for the next week.  It got a bit stressful trying to get Elias in, but the care they received was wonderful.  The toddler teachers took to Caleb straight away and even when he was out of their room they would go out of their way to say hello to him and engage him in conversation.  The preschool teachers were not as open to Caleb at first.  But he won them over in the end and they all were very sad to see him go today.

Caleb's last swim lesson is Saturday.  It is amazing how far he has come in his lessons.  He started out in parent-assisted lessons and now he goes by himself with the teacher.  He can float on his back, go underwater and swim through a hoop, jump in the pool to a noodle, and kick across the pool on a kick board.  I am so proud of my little fish!

Monday will be our last playgroup.  This has been such a wonderful way for Caleb, Elias, and I to make friends.  We have had so much fun playing at the cottage, seeing sheep being shorn, going to a petting farm, playing baseball and duck, duck, goose with the other kids, having play dates, and going out to dinner with the other mums.  I so wish that the US had a playgroup association the way that Australia does.  This was a true lifesaver for me when we first moved.

Finally tomorrow will be our last Friday with the Pierces.  April and I have become such wonderful friends and I will miss her enormously.  Our time here would not have been the same if they had not been posted here as well.

There of course are things I will not miss about Canberra.  Here is the short list; shopping carts that go straight, they all move at a 45 degree angle, so you either have to walk slanted or move the cart slanted. Getting any service done on your car, even an oil change takes 3 hours.  The lack of variety in food, in our area you can get Turkish, Thai, or Indian.  The short hours of the mall, it closes at 5:30pm, but if you actually want to buy something before it closes you really have to be there at 5, because by 5:30 they have all closed up and are on their way home.  Only grocery stores and restaurants are open later.  But don't try to buy food from a restaurant between lunch and dinner, they will be closed and open back up at 5:30.

Those of course are small annoyances.  The beauty of Canberra, Australia, and the people far outweigh any of those things. There is no traffic here.  The mountains that surround Canberra are beautiful and I never get over the views just driving around.  Looking out for cows and kangaroos outside our neighbourhood, and the amazing beaches.  Every beach here (that we have been to) is outstanding, the water is clear, the sand is clean, and it is never crowded.  

I will miss you Canberra.  

Happy Birthday!

Whoops, it has been 5 months since my last post!  I am going to blame this on Elias.  Since he cut down to 2 naps I don't get a nap time anymore which was when I would blog.  So when Caleb goes down, I normally get Elias up.  So here is a bit of what is going on with us!

Caleb turned 3 in February.  We had his party at the fun factory, an indoor play place with a ball pit, climbing structures, jumping castle, etc.  He had a blast.  He invited some friends and we all had a good time.

My parents came to visit at the end of March and stayed for 3 weeks.  We went to Port Douglas (in Queesnland, far north of here) with them.  We went snorkling in the great barrier reef, went on a river cruise and saw salt water crocodiles, and to the beach.  It was the end of the rainy season, so it rained daily, but it we did everything we wanted to there.

Two weekends ago we went to the bateman's bay for the last time.  It is a beach 2 hours from here.  We stayed in a bed and breakfast that we had been to twice before.  It was a nice getaway for a day.

Yesterday Elias turned 1!  I can't believe how fast this year went!  We had a family over that we are close with to celebrate.  I made his favorite foods, a cake, and some cupcakes.  Elias loves anything sweet, so I was pretty certain he would love the cupcake and he did!
Elias has 3 teeth now, 2 on the bottom and 1 on top.  He is an incredibly slow teether, and it takes weeks for a tooth to break through.  So I am dreading the next top tooth to come in.  He is walking, but just barely.  He took his first steps at 11 months, but does not seem to be in a hurry to walk.  He will walk a few steps between me and Brian or from the table to me.  But I still think it will be awhile until his is really walking.  He is content to crawl.  He is babbling all the time, but does not have any words yet.  I think he says hi and bye, but I am not completely sure.  He loves his big brother and finds everything he does fascinating.  Whatever Caleb is playing with Elias wants and will make a huge fuss until he gets a turn.  He is incredibly determined and will not be distracted until he has what he wants.  But he is still so happy.  He loves to smile and laugh.  He even fake laughs now.  Caleb loves to make Elias laugh, so Elias is always giving Caleb his fake laugh now, haha!

Caleb is still my goofy boy.  He is completely potty trained (except at night, but I think we have a long time before that happens).  He loves sports, especially baseball.  He plays baseball with anything,  flyswatter and balloon, a shovel and watering can, he can make anything a bat and ball.  He also still loves music and has decided that when he gets older he is going to play the trumpet, guitar, and drums. He no longer naps, but is happy to have quiet time in his room.  He goes to daycare once and week and loves it.  He has learned to peddle a tricycle there and drink out of a cup well.  He has a wonderful relationship with Brian and when Brian travels he is incredibly emotional.  But I love that the relationship they have!

We have less than 6 weeks left in Australia.  We leave June 27.  I have mixed feelings about leaving.  But I will save that for another post.  Hopefully the boys will nap at the same time again another day so I can keep blogging!  Elias is trying to switch to 1 nap a day, but is doing a horrible job of it.  So who knows.  .  

it's been awhile. .

I just noticed my last blog was in November, so I better start updating!  So here is what has been going on with us since then.

In the beginning of December Brian's parents came over for a visit, their 3rd time.  They spent a few days here in Canberra while Brian was in Wellington (a huge help!!) and then we all flew together to meet up with Brian in New Zealand.  The flight down was crazy.  We almost missed our flight out of Sydney which we only made by running through the terminal.  We did not realize that Air New Zealand made you pay for checked baggage, so we had to pay before they would give you a boarding pass, this of course took forever!  With 10 minutes before the time to board we still had to go through security and get to our gate (Sydney is a very large airport).  So once we got through security Betty, Marc, the boys and I took off.  Marc had 3 bags, Betty had 1 bag, I was pushing Caleb in a trolley and holding Elias as we are all running and Caleb is screaming and crying "I don't want to be in a trolley!"  I am sure we were quite a sight!  But we did make the flight and were the last ones on the plane.

We spent a night in Christchurch and then flew to Queenstown where we rented a van and drove to Te Anau.  We went to Milford Sound and then drove back to Queenstown.  It is beautiful.  I am so glad we made the trip together.  We said good-bye to Marc and Betty at the Sydney airport.  It was great seeing them again!

The glaciers at Milford Sound, New Zealand

We had Christmas just the 4 of us but were able to skype with my family and Brian's family.  It was kind of nice just having it on our own.  Caleb was very excited this year.  It was the first year he understood the holiday and was very excited for Santa to come!  We had friends over on Boxing day (the 26th) to help us eat the turkey we got from Costco.  It was huge, 19lbs and I got the smallest one they had!

Caleb Christmas morning, "Santa brought me cashews!"

New Year's Eve is not exciting for us anymore, so I will kind of skip it.  Because we have small children who don't sleep in it is not worth staying up, so Brian and I were in bed by 10:30.  I am sure the day will come when we will stay up again, but I don't think it will be anytime soon!

After the new year started we began potty training Caleb.  This was our 3rd attempt and he was finally ready!  It really only took a couple of days and he was done!  I bought a great book on Amazon that Caleb really loved and that made all the difference.  Plus he will be 3 next month.

Elias is 8 months now.  He is trying very hard to be independent.  He wants to feed himself and crawl, but he can't do either yet.  I give him chucks of banana, puffs, and cheerios to feed himself, but he doesn't yet have the ability to eat other whole foods so mealtimes are a battle.  We both get very frustrated.  He is also trying very hard to move.  He loves to stand, but cannot pull up yet.  But he will hold on to my leg or the coffee table and try to cruise a bit.  He also gets up on his knees and rocks.  I think he will be crawling soon.  He is sleeping 10-11 hours at night and recently went to 2 naps a day, each 1.5 - 2 hours.  I am thankful for a good sleeper!

Elias, 8 months, loves to stand!

I joined a gym after the new year.  I have wanted to in the past but the cost has always stopped me.  But  I am struggling with baby weight from Elias so I sucked it up and joined.  My gym membership in MD was $29 a month.  Here it is $100 a month.  That does not include childcare, which is $5 per kid per session (each session is 2 hours).  So I try to go when Brian is home or while they are in occasional care and at most put them in the creche once a week.  I keep telling myself my health is worth the money.

Last weekend we went to Merimbula for MLK weekend.  It is the 3rd beach we have been to here.  The other beaches we went to were north of Canberra, whereas this one is 3 hours south.  It was very beautiful.  It was nice to get away for a few days.  Caleb loves the ocean!  He ran in and out of the water and built sand castles.  Elias loved people watching while tasting the sand.  A good time had by all :)

I will try to blog more soon!